Banned for being trans: Pool champion Harriet Haynes’s fight for inclusion in sport

The Independent

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00:00They removed trans women from competing against biological women.

00:10I wouldn't be allowed to compete in the female section.

00:14To almost be called a threat, I just couldn't really deal with that at that time.

00:20I thought that was an extreme wording.

00:24I've never really considered myself a trailblazer.

00:27I'm just a woman who is trying to live their life.

00:34I'm Harriet Haynes.

00:35I play pool at a regional and international level.

00:40Pool is my hobby and my love, really.

00:44In pool, every break is different.

00:46There's going to be clusters of balls that you have to solve and sort out.

00:53It's a puzzle that you can never really solve.

00:57My mum was a pool player.

00:59She played for a team in Basingstoke.

01:02I remember her bringing back a trophy.

01:05I was really, really proud of her.

01:11I just witnessed women playing pool and it was just a normal occurrence for me to see

01:16other women playing pool.

01:18I was always interested in playing pool.

01:21When I transitioned, I was working a 9-to-5 for the first time and it meant I could go

01:25out in the evening more often.

01:28That's kind of where I really got the bug for it and got a lot better.

01:37I found it really homely at the academy in Basingstoke.

01:40It was a really safe place to go and everyone was very welcoming there.

01:46I kind of just felt really safe and just enjoyed the game.

01:53Last year, I was removed from the English Black Ball Pool Federation's female category.

02:01They removed trans women from competing against biological women.

02:07I received a phone call stating that they were placing the ban on trans women competing.

02:13The English Black Ball Pool Federation never contacted me.

02:16They released a statement almost identical to the other statements that were released.

02:22They wished that players could play in a safer environment.

02:25I was shocked.

02:27To say that it was so that they could play in a safer environment kind of meant that

02:33trans women were a threat to other women when actually on the circuit, we were just treated

02:39like other women in social circles.

02:42We were sitting with each other in the bar, chat.

02:47It was bizarre really.

02:50It was something that I just couldn't really deal with at that time.

02:55I thought that was an extreme wording.

03:01Trans women have been playing pool in the women's section for many, many years.

03:05The sport was always really, really welcoming and that's why I kind of felt at home playing

03:12it.

03:13Up and down the country, women beat men on a daily basis.

03:16Yesterday, I witnessed a woman player in the Prima Division beat three different men.

03:22It happens every single day of the week.

03:27This is the Champ of the Champions from 2018.

03:31It was the first year that I was playing in the EPA and I managed to qualify for the

03:37Champ of the Champions and then go through and beat the current world champion en route

03:46and then win the final.

03:47I'm very, very proud of that.

03:49It brings back good memories.

03:51Probably one of the best atmospheres I played in.

03:55Under pressure from our legal team, they still haven't withdrawn the ban, unfortunately.

04:03We are due in court on the 7th of April, 2025, which has taken almost two years to get there.

04:15It's been a long, long time coming.

04:18I'm hopeful that the courts see our side and that they put this to bed, really, for

04:29us.

04:30It's affecting me playing in the black ball side of things with the Kent team that I've

04:38been playing with since 2019, who are kind of like a family and, you know, I miss playing

04:44with them and they miss me.

04:50I've been playing pool as well for the past year with this on my shoulders, really, and

04:58it's a big burden to have and I've just been living my life as best as they could up until

05:04now and just trying to get through it every day.

05:08So it will just be a massive relief if we win the case.

05:17Pool isn't a gender-affected sport.

05:20We've proved with the experts that trans women have no advantage.

05:24It's pool.

05:25We're not talking about boxing or golf.

05:27You're playing with an implement that is, well, my cue is 16 ounces.

05:36I should be allowed to continue playing in the female competitions.

05:42You know, I am a woman.

05:43I have a gender recognition certificate.

05:45I'm treated like a woman on every other basis of my life.

05:50I have no advantage, but we're going to be proving that in court, so I should be allowed

05:55to play in the women's section.

06:02I've never really considered myself a trailblazer.

06:05I'm just a woman who is trying to live their life, and all I want to do is just be treated

06:10the same as any other woman.

06:11I'm treated like a woman every single day of my life, and this is the only aspect of

06:16my life where I'm not, which hurts a lot.

06:21I will continue to seek fairness and to want to be treated fairly.

06:35I will continue to seek fairness and to want to be treated fairly.

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